


i love you like xo

by lazyfish



Series: xo [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Multi, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22602271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: Hunter used to think he didn't like his partners stealing his clothes. Now he wishes more than anything they could steal from him again.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse/Jemma Simmons
Series: xo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626316
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	i love you like xo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AgentOfShip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/gifts).



Russia was cold, but at least Hunter had his flannel.

For the first time in his life, that was a bad thing. He didn’t want his clothing, he wanted his _people_. He had one of them, but the other two were back on a plane he wasn’t supposed to know existed. 

He didn’t realize Bobbi was in the room until she pried the flannel out of his hands, her touches surprisingly gentle. She pulled the flannel on - it was a little short in the arms for her, but otherwise it fit well. Jemma always looked small when she was wearing his clothes, and so did Fitz, but Hunter liked that.

He protected them, and they trusted him, and they drowned in his clothing because it was _his_ , and he’d never had a love like that before.

Bobbi dropped her head to his shoulder, and Hunter wrapped his arm around her. They hadn’t spoken much since getting to their hotel room - they knew they were being watched and likely listened to as well - but the one gesture told Hunter everything he needed to know. Bobbi needed his protection now, needed him to be better.

They would find a way to make it work.

\---

It was strange to be in possession of most of his clothing. Bob still occasionally stole sweaters, but she mostly stayed away from his flannels, and definitely wouldn’t touch his socks. Everything she took was returned to its rightful spot in the closet when she was done, though not before she had run it through the wash. 

He didn’t complain when she took something, and she didn’t tease him when she gave it back. It simply _was_ , without any fanfare. Somehow that made the freezing ache in his heart even worse. Skirting around what had been felt like forgetting it, and Hunter wasn’t ready to forget. Neither of them were, but Bobbi had always been more stubborn than him. 

She took more work than him, too, constantly jetting off to new places where her unique skill set would be put to use. She spent more time away than she did at home the first year, and even though Hunter knew it was her way of coping, it wasn’t any easier. That first night he was sure she was going to let him in, let him protect her the way he had protected Jemma and Fitz.

Things changed somewhere around the second year. She left, but less often - and every time she did, she had a flannel tucked into the back corner of her suitcase. Hunter didn’t ask if she ever wore them, and she never did say, but it was more of an acknowledgement of what had happened than anything else.

\---

Helping Fitz was a sort of exquisite agony. Everything Hunter wanted was close enough to touch, but he couldn’t reach out. If he held Fitz close he would never let go. If he went with Fitz, he would never come back, and as much as he wanted to be back with Fitz and Jemma, he couldn’t leave Bobbi alone. 

“You staying warm?” Hunter asked as they sat in the back of the RV together, their shoulders not quite touching.

“Yeah.” Fitz wouldn’t look at him. “You?”

“Easier without someone to steal the blankets.” Hunter’s voice cracked, but he ignored it. So, apparently, did Fitz.

“I love you,” Fitz said into the still air.

“I know,” Hunter answered. He couldn’t say it back. He wouldn’t say it back, because this was already breaking his heart and he was afraid if he admitted everything he was feeling, he would shatter himself beyond repair.

When it came to say goodbye, though, Hunter’s resolve cracked. He hadn’t gotten to say goodbye the last time, hadn’t known that would be the last time he was ever going to see Fitz and Jemma. Now he had the chance to make it at least a little more right, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

“I love you,” he said when he closed the door to Fitz on the cryo chamber.

“I know.” Fitz’s smile was small and wry, and he probably thought he was fooling Hunter with the bravado, but before the tiny window into the cryo chamber fogged over completely, Hunter saw the single tear trickle down his cheek.

There was an extra pair of socks in Fitz’s supplies when he woke up.

\---

Convincing Mack to let him onto the base, even for a few minutes, was a task. Luckily for Hunter, he was devilishly charming and also had more blackmail on Mack than his friend realized.

It was a quick mission, really. Fitz and Jemma were off-base looking at properties in Scotland to move into, so slipping into their bunk was a breeze. Neither of them ever changed their passcodes, Hunter thought fondly as he slipped into Fitzsimmons’s shared room. As expected, most of their belongings were packed away into boxes, including their winter clothing. 

Hunter stripped off the flannel he was wearing and tucked the note he and Bobbi had written into the front pocket. It was brief, but it had to be - not much more would’ve fit on the shred of paper. He folded the flannel and slipped it into one of the boxes. 

He was about to exit the room, but hesitated. It would be so easy just to _stay_. Bob was just a mile or so away, waiting with the car, and she would probably agree if he asked her.

But technically, Jemma and Fitz were still SHIELD - though not for much longer.

He and Bobbi could wait. Hopefully Fitz and Jemma would do the same.

\---

“Are you ready?”

“No.” Hunter glanced around nervously. All Fitz or Jemma had to do was look through the front window and they’d see the little blue car he and Bobbi had bought the day they moved to England. “Are you?”

“Absolutely not.” Bobbi’s hands were actually shaking. She hadn’t seen either of their partners since that day, and was probably even less sure of her welcome than Hunter was.

“Do you think…?”

“I don’t know.”

They sat in the car for a little while longer, both struggling with what would happen after they knocked. Maybe they’d have to get back into their little car and drive back to their shitty London flat. Maybe the news would be bad. Maybe.

But maybe not.

“Let’s go.” Hunter opened the driver’s side door before he could start overthinking again.

Together, he and Bobbi made their way up the walk, past the flowers trimming the edge of the driveway.

Together, they knocked.


End file.
